Page 43 of Midnight Witch

CHAPTER19

Vlad’s expression tightened.His gaze swept the sky to the left.

Nikolai drew a sharp breath in the back seat. “Behind us!”

Mae twisted around, the seat belt digging into her midriff. A black helicopter bearing the logo of the Massachusetts State Police was visible through the rear windshield. It swooped down toward them.

Vlad cursed and stepped on the gas. “How the hell did they find us?!”

Mae scowled. “It’s probably the work of the Dark Council!”

Flashing light bars appeared amidst the traffic on the opposite highway as they rounded a bend. Half a dozen patrol cars shot past, sirens blaring. Tires screeched wildly moments later.

The cops were doing a U-turn where the concrete median gave way to amber center lines.

The civilian vehicles in their path slowed sharply as they hurtled down the highway after the Bentley.

“Looks like the cat is officially out of the bag.” Nikolai watched the vehicles closing in on their tail, a muscle ticking in his jawline. “We’re gonna have to lose them and fast!”

The helicopter’s downdraft made the Bentley shudder as it darted overhead. Vlad swerved around a motorhome and straightened the car, his knuckles white on the steering wheel.

The aircraft turned up ahead and dropped to a low hover, nose facing them.

“Pull over!” someone shouted angrily over the loudspeakers. “We know you’re harboring the fugitive Hana Mae Jin!”

Mae’s eyes widened.

“Shit.” Nikolai gripped the headrest of her seat, her shock reflected on his face. “Is that Jared?!”

“Looks like they’re intending to ram us off the road!” Vlad snarled.

The helicopter was barely reversing as they closed in on it.

Gunfire erupted behind them. A bullet bounced off the tailgate of the Bentley. Another pinged off the rear windshield.

Hellfire magic bloomed around Nikolai. “I can’t believe these assholes are shooting at us!”

“Don’t worry.” Vlad glanced at the rearview mirror and furrowed his brow. “My car has armor plating and bulletproof glass.” He clenched his teeth. “Also, how about you not burn up my custom-made leather seats?!”

Movement in the sky to the right had Mae’s head whipping around. Her nails dug into her palms. “Is your Bentley grenade proof?!”

Vlad swore colorfully when he saw the helicopter gunship flying in from the north.

“You cannot make this shit up,” Nikolai muttered, pale-faced.

Mae spotted rail tracks in the distance. She scanned the road ahead, her heart racing. They were two hundred feet from the state police helicopter.

“Turn!”

Vlad glanced at her. “What?!”

“Turn!Now!”

Mae grabbed the steering wheel and yanked it to the right. Magic warmed her flesh as she unleashedWind Fury.

The spell froze the traffic that would have crashed into them as they careened through an intersection and hurtled across the opposite highway. Mae’s fingers almost dented the dashboard when the Bentley’s side mirror missed a bus by mere inches.

They shot onto a side road. Mae ended the spell.

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